


Oscar Wilde is Gay and it's Dangerous: the novel

by 3ss4ys (enigmaticNeurologist)



Category: The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Genre: Analysis, Essays, M/M, i wrote a thing for school and i liked it oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 21:12:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18199391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticNeurologist/pseuds/3ss4ys
Summary: Sometimes essays for school are tedious to write and make you want to die. This one was actually kind of fun. Enjoy these Hot Takes on flowers and colors, and why those show that Oscar Wilde is scared and rather angry at the irony that expressing his gay self can easily get him killed.





	Oscar Wilde is Gay and it's Dangerous: the novel

**Author's Note:**

> this book was my favorite one I'd read in my english class all year, and it was hella gay. so when we had to write an essay on its interpretation of social issues I fuckin jumpEd at the chance to analyze the interpretations of romance. i'm way too proud of this lmao
> 
> the citations are from the Dover Thrift Edition of the novel

 

Performative Romance in  _ The Picture of Dorian Gray _

In the frequently quoted words of William Shakespeare, “ All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”  Performance of societally-enforced roles reaches as thoroughly into real life as it does into other works of literature. Oscar Wilde’s novel,  _ The Picture of Dorian Gray _ focuses on the shapes characters will contort themselves in order to present acceptable lifestyles. Victorian flower language paired with color symbolism, allusions to Shakespeare and the book of Genesis, as well as literarily foiled relationships are woven adeptly to convey the pressure of social norms regarding sexuality. Through the use of these literary terms, Wilde conveys how actions of the heart are dangerous to one’s position in society. In order to gain societal acceptance, performance and deception are required. 

Performance is the cornerstone of Dorian Gray’s relationship with Sybil Vane. Sybil has few memorable qualities, but that lack highlights those that are important. One of the most vital traits possessed by Sybil is her naivety. Sybil is repeatedly compared to pale flowers, be it a “pale rose” or “white lily” (55, 60).  According to the Victorian flower language, these particular blooms link Sybil with innocence and purity respectively. The second core aspect of Sybil Vane is her profession as an actress, for whom performing is a key part of her livelihood. Oscar Wilde uses her role as an actress to connect her path with those of the Shakespearean characters she plays. The key allusion he makes is to the play  _ Romeo and Juliet _ . In her final performance, Sybil plays Juliet without any passion, unlike her previous times on stage, and it drives the majority of the audience out of the theater. Sybil’s justification for this lackluster acting is that, after Dorian “had made [her] understand what true love really is [...] it would be profanation for [her] to play at being in love” (63). This path of love is true to the character Juliet as well. Juliet doesn’t care what her family or the town thinks of her decision to reject Paris; she only cares about the man she sees as her true love. Sybil parallels Juliet in more than her style of love, she also parallels Juliet in her tragic end. Dorian absolutely despises Sybil’s final play, even though it is the performance truest to the person Sybil actually is. When Dorian unleashes his fury on Sybil backstage, he asks her “What are you now? A third-rate actress with a pretty face” (64). By implying Sybil isn’t worth anything without her acting, Dorian displays he doesn’t truly care about Sybil herself. Dorian values the talent of acting or faking love, and the anger and rejection Sybil receives at the loss of that talent is enough to drive her to commit suicide. Through valuing the performance of love over real love, Dorian literally causes the death of innocence.

Performance is the key social strategy of one of Dorian’s greatest influencers, Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry is, from the outset, depicted as a negative influence on Dorian through use of flower symbolism. Right after his name is first mentioned in the novel, Lord Henry is described as glimpsing a laburnum tree. In the flower language it symbolizes forsaken, pensive beauty, and in real life it is poisonous, from the roots to the seeds. Immediately, Lord Henry’s thoughts about life and beauty are connected with poison and danger. Lord Henry says many things, but Dorian is most affected by the one Lord Henry shares in Basil’s garden: “one of the great secrets of life—to cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul” (15). In this setting, Wilde parallels Lord Henry’s influence in the garden with the Devil in Eden. Lord Henry later gives Dorian a book of an unspecified name, but one so enticing “Dorian Gray could not [... or] never sought to free himself from it” (92). After the series of tragedies and cruelties in Dorian’s life culminates in homicide, and even worse,  _ consequences _ , Dorian realizes Lord Henry “poisoned [him] with a book once,” and goes on to warn him the book “does harm” (160). This poisoning through ideas cements Lord Henry’s corruptive influence on Dorian’s ideas through his direct actions. Through this display, the negative associations of other actions taken by Lord Henry are heightened. One of these actions Lord Henry and Dorian both utilize is basing a relationship off of performance. In Lord Henry’s own words regarding his wife: “one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties” (3). The two barely speak to one another, aside from “occasionally, when [they] dine out together [... and] tell each other the most absurd stories with the most serious faces” (3). The Wotton’s marriage is based off of detachment from one another and deception as a form of fun. Performance, pretending to tell the truth and pretending to have a good time at dinner listening to one another’s lies, is the cornerstone of the relationship between the Wottons. In addition to the similarities in performance, the Wottons don’t have a happy end to their relationship. Victoria Wotton leaves her husband Henry for another man, one who “played Chopin exquisitely” (156). These romances, if they even deserve that name, aren’t based off of true feelings of love and instead rely on intrigue and the desire to fill the role society has laid out for them. Lord Henry’s connection with corruption proves that this type of relationship is unhealthy, even though it is painted with a light of interest and intrigue. 

In contrast with many examples of acceptable and unhealthy relationships, Basil Hallward’s relationship possesses great love and potential but is unacceptable and impossible by society’s terms. Oscar Wilde originally wrote the painter Basil as even more in love with Dorian than the final edition of the book presents, due to his editors tempering down the homoeroticism. Even so, Basil “has given away [his] whole soul” to Dorian, and admits to Lord Henry that he “see[s] everything in [Dorian…] find[s] him in the curves of certain lines, in the loveliness and subtleties of certain colors” (84, 9). These sentiments are rather sweet, and they are also far from platonic in nature. At the time this novel was written, those feelings were exceedingly dangerous and could lead to conversion therapy as well as imprisonment. Basil is aware of this danger, and therefore seeks to hide his true feelings instead of displaying them on stage, or in a gallery. Basil is afraid ‘the world might guess [his idolatry of Dorian]” and declares his “heart shall never be put under their microscope” (8). Instead of performing love where none exists, Basil tries his hardest to protect his feelings from the scrutinizing gaze of society. When Basil attempts to deny the existence of his feelings for Dorian and “determined to make [Dorian’s] portrait the principal thing in [his] exhibition” in Paris, one question from Dorian about his motivations forces Basil to accept his “strange idolatry” of Dorian (84, 85). Through respect for Dorian’s privacy and reputation, and through fear of the tarnishing of his own reputation, Basil vows to forever keep his love hidden. Although most works cast a negative eye on repression of romantic feelings, Oscar Wilde presents this path as virtuous. Basil’s name means good wishes in the Victorian flower language, and his actions mirror his name perfectly. When Dorian reveals his portrait to Basil, Basil blames himself for the appearance of the painting, pointing out how he “worshipped [Dorian] too much” (115). He goes on to encourage Dorian to repent, and to say the Lord’s prayer together. In this moment, Basil ceases his blind adoration of Dorian and instead shifts to a mindset of growing and healing with him. In most stories, this is the point where the true love of one character would pull the other out of their downward spiral, and the profession of true feelings would win the day. Instead, Basil’s confession and desire to grow with the person he loves is what ultimately gets him murdered by that very man.

Relationships rely on performance and deception for acceptance, and the defiance of these rules end in nothing but misery. Lord Henry communicates with his wife primarily through lies, and that attitude he takes toward life makes his presence and character, though accepted by society, poisonous. Sybil outright rejects performance of fake love in favor for expression of her feelings towards Dorian, and the backlash from that decision is so terrible it contributes to her suicide. When Basil finally stops hiding, expressing his love for and commitment to Dorian, Dorian kills him. Dorian himself, once an innocent youth, has his soul warped by the pressure of performative romance and the lengths he will go through to maintain that farce. If all the world’s a stage, it’s vital for all players to act their very best. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! if you haven't read the book (i don't know why you'd read this if you haven't, but anyway) i'd HIGHLY recommend it!


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